This is the compendium piece to Magnificent Scoundrels, detailing the characters and other important information within the story. Please note that I do not own anything besides Captain Drake and his crew, who were created for the purpose of the story. Adam Vir and his crew belongs to the Empyrean Iris series by starfallknightrise, who has been good enough to help me with both Scoundrels and this codex. The other characters and universes belong to their respective corporate owners.
The codex will be updated as the story continued with the necessary relevant information. If there are any issues reading or with the format, please tell me, and I'll fix it!
Notes on reading the codex: some entries are smaller, some are larger. Length does not correspond to importance, but rather with how much information is necessary to have an understanding for the information being conveyed. For instance, the official backstory of some characters is "they were born somewhere and joined the military and now they're here", whereas others have five layers of needed context to understand why they're here.
Additionally, each chapter contains a different subject. The chapters will be labeled as such, and so you may find what you're looking for in the chapter titles. The codex starts with The Scoundrels, and will continue with Their Crews and Subordinates. Governments, species, and other important individuals will come as the story progresses.
Enjoy!
oOo
The Scoundrels:
[As organized by last name alphabetical order]
Master Chief John 117
Allegiance: UNSC
Master Chief Petty Officer John-117, also simply known by his rank as the Master Chief or Chief, is a Spartan-II super-soldier of the UNSC Navy's Special Weapons division. John was born on March 7, 2511 on the colony world of Eridanus II. At the age of six, John was identified by Doctor Catherine Halsey as one of 150 preliminary candidates for the Spartan-II program. He was covertly tested as his ability as a candidate, and when Halsey determined he was an ideal candidate, he was covertly kidnaped from his home along with 74 other children by ONI agents. They were replaced by flash clones who would later seemingly die of natural causes due to their accelerated growth processes.
After years of training, at the age of fourteen, John underwent the dangerous Spartan-II augmentation procedures. These procedures resulted in the deaths of thirty trainees, with twelve more physically disabled. However, John and thirty others survived. These enhancements both physically boosted their bodies and gave them enhanced reflexes, strength, eyesight, and rendered their bones nearly unbreakable.
Throughout his early career, John was mainly deployed against insurrectionists. As the Covenant threat grew, the UNSC found themselves fighting more and more against them, and the greatest SPARTAN was always found at the forefront of those battles. Throughout this time, he won every medal awarded by the UNSC except the Prisoner of War Medallion. John was resummoned to the planet Reach, where he was given the latest generation of MJOLNIR armor and an A.I. called Cortana. However, the Covenant attacked and destroyed Reach, and John was one of the few survivors of the battle.
Since then, John has fought the Covenant throughout space, including on Halo Installation 04. He is regarded by humanity as their foremost and most-decorated soldier and the hope of the human race to defeat enemies far more powerful than them. To his enemies in the Covenant, he is known simply as 'the Demon', a near-mythical figure of divine retribution and their most dangerous enemy.
Commissar Ciaphas Cain
Allegiance: The Imperium of Man, the Commissariat, the Valhallan 597th
Ciaphas Cain is considered to be one of the greatest Commissars within the Imperium of Man. Thought of a shining example of what a Commissar should be, he is both a hero to the normal men and women under his authority (a rarity among Commissars) and propaganda hero to the Imperium of Man as a whole. Cain is considered to be a lenient Commissar, and unlike many of his station and the stereotypical Commissar, is soft-spoken, quick-witted, and keen to solve issues in the most practical manner possible without sacrificing men under his command. Consequently, he is extremely well-regarded by his soldiers, who have gone so far as to support him even against planetary governors and other Commissars: a loyalty that few others of his station can claim.
Cain's early life is a mystery, even to him. He claims to have been born in the slums of a Hive World, and retains the excellent sense of direction underground one born in the slums might have. Cain also states that his parents were petty criminals who joined the Imperial Guard to escape the law, and he was trained as a Commissar when they were killed in action, but there are no mixed-gender regiments within the appropriate places and timeframe that Cain might have been born. In addition, if this claim is true, it does not explain how the son of two enlisted troopers would be trained at a Schola Progenium, an honor usually reserved for the children of officers and major heroes who gave their lives to the Emperor. What is most likely is that Cain only remembers hints of his early life, the majority of it faded over the long years or due to subtle brainwashing at the Schola.
Regardless, Ciaphas Cain is seen as a shining beacon of what a true Imperial hero should be, and both Commissars and soldiers throughout the galaxy strive to emulate his example.
Pilot Jack Cooper
Allegiance: The Frontier Militia
Due to the radically skewed wealth and population distribution on Earth, Jack Cooper's family moved to the Frontier when he was an infant. The inhabitants of the Frontier were constantly subjected to harassment by IMC garrisons. Eventually, an IMC strike team slaughtered peaceful farmers in an event known as the Dunnam Vale Massacre, which prompted Cooper to join the Frontier Militia to free the Frontier from the oppression of the IMC.
Cooper served as a Rifleman, and was part of several battles, including the Fracture Operation, where he suffered a head injury in the line of duty and has trouble remembering the battle as a result. However, throughout his entire life and career as a Rifleman, Cooper always dreamt of being a Titan Pilot. Eventually, this eagerness impressed Tai Lastimosa, a veteran Pilot and captain of the Militia's Special Recon Squadron. Lastimosa trained Cooper in Virtual Reality training simulations for a time before the Battle of Typhon.
During the Battle of Typhon, Lastimosa was killed in action by the Apex Predator mercenary group. However, before his death, Lastimosa transferred authority of his Titan, BT-7274, over to Cooper and gave him a battlefield promotion to Pilot. Cooper and BT-7274 were able to stop the Apex Predator and IMC forces on Typhon, breaking their forces and saving the Militia. Since then, Cooper and BT are regarded as the Militia's foremost Pilot/Titan duo.
Captain Thomas Drake
Allegiance: The Apocalypse Mercenaries, his hirer
Thomas Drake has been called many things throughout his career, many of them true, many of them false. The simple fact is that Thomas Drake is perhaps the galaxy's deadliest mercenary. While other mercenary outfits or 'security corporations' might be simple guns for hire, Thomas Drake and his Apocalypse Mercenaries not only are some of the highest-trained experts at war in the universe, but also some of the best at solving problems of any matter, from financial issues to public relations to simple eliminations to full-scale battles.
While Drake will happily give out personal details to those close to him, what little is known about his past to the public is that Drake seemed to simply appear from thin air at the side of Martin Crossgrow and cunningly eliminated any threats to the security of the Guild of Merchants or Crossgrow himself. Crossgrow, head of Crossgrow Corporation, the Guild itself, and perhaps the richest and most powerful man in the galaxy is Drake's chief employer, and their symbiotic relationship is a terrifying thing to behold. Drake is protected by Crossgrow's influence, always working around the shadows of the public eye, and Crossgrow is propped up by Drake's activities.
Ultimately, Thomas Drake is an individual who is perhaps one of the purest forms of Renaissance man. He is a jack of all trades, a master of few, but someone who instinctively knows how to get what he wants, whether that be through his terrifying knowledge of persons, charisma, violence, or his extraordinary wealth. While some characterized Drake as semi-insane or psychopathic, he is ultimately (and strangely, considering his work) a man of honor. He takes it as a point of pride that he is always honest to his allies.
Whatever Drake is, there is one simple fact about him that overshadows all others: you always want to be on his side.
Captain James Kirk
Allegiance: The United Federation of Planets, the crew of the Enterprise
James Tiberius Kirk, called Jim by his friends, is a human Starfleet officer and current commander of the Constitution-class starship USS Enterprise. Born in 2233 in Riverside, Iowa, on Earth, Kirk was the son of Starfleet officer George Kirk and his wife Winona. He grew up in his hometown and embraced the history of his homeland, the United States of America. Eventually, due to his father's work, Kirk's family moved to a colony world called Tarsus IV; there, Kirk witnessed the governor's troops massacre a group of civilians over a food shortage.
Eventually, Kirk joined the Starfleet, inspired by his father. He graduated the Starfleet Academy with honors; notably, he reprogrammed a computer to win an unwinnable tactical scenario, earning praise for his outside-the-box thinking. Upon graduation, he served on several expeditions before being posted to the USS Republic. He was then promoted to lieutenant and became an Academy instructor. After his tenure there, he became an officer on the phaser crew of the USS Farragut. He then became the youngest ever first officer of a Starfleet vessel, earning the attention of Captain Christopher Pike of the USS Enterprise.
Kirk was eventually picked to succeed Pike, and became the captain of the Enterprise. He inherited much of Pike's crew, with the Chief Science Officer Spock promoted to his executive officer. Kirk quickly formed a friendship with his vessel's fellow officers, which they share. He has been assigned to a long mission to explore the stars and 'go where no man has gone before', and serves his ship faithfully throughout it. Above all, his duty towards his ship and friends is what makes him one of the most legendary commanders in the Starfleet.
Peter Quill
Allegiance: The crew of the Milano
Peter Jason Quill, also known by his alias Star-Lord, is a human-Celestial hybrid and current commander of the Guardians of the Galaxy. Born in the United States of America on Earth in 1980 to the human woman Meridith Quill, Peter never knew his father. He was close to his mother; unfortunately, when he was eight years old, his mother died of brain cancer. Distraught, Quill ran from the hospital where she died and was abducted by Ravager pirates from space on orders of his father, Ego.
However, the captain of the Ravagers, Yondo Udonta, knew what Quill's father was and elected not to hand him over, instead keeping the boy and raising him among the Ravagers. As Quill grew up, he became a Ravager thief. Eventually, Yondo was contracted to steal a special orb by a contractor, and gave Quill the job. Quill stole the orb, and left the Ravagers to sell it by himself. At this point, he was accosted by Gamora, who tried to steal the orb, and Rocket and Groot, who tried to capture him for his bounty. However, all of them were arrested and imprisoned. This prison was where the Guardians of the Galaxy were formed; the group then went on to defeat Ronan the Accuser.
It was shortly after this when Quill was contacted by his father. Unbeknownst to either Quill or his friends, his father was a being called a Celestial, a nearly god-like entity. His goal was to absorb as many planets as he could into himself, but to do this, he needed the help of another Celestial of his blood. Therefore, he had spent nearly a millennium of traveling the stars impregnating women of various species, trying to find an offspring with his powers. None did, and all were unceremoniously killed: until Quill. Quill had his father's power, but upon finding that he was responsible for putting the brain tumor that killed his mother inside her and realizing the horrible truth of his plans, Quill rebelled, killing his father and thus losing his god-like powers. He has no regrets, though, as he considers being just like 'everyone else' among his friends a far better fate.
During Thanos's Infinity War, Quill and the Guardians teamed up with the Avengers to try and stop Thanos. They failed, and Thanos was able to wipe out half of all life in the universe, including Quill. However, a few years later, when the Avengers were able to reverse the 'snap' that killed half of all life, Quill returned. After Thanos's final defeat, he has gone on to once more lead the reborn Guardians of the Galaxy into whatever threats the strange new universe might over them.
Commander Jane Shepard
Allegiance: The Citadel Council, the Systems Alliance, the crew of the Normandy
Jane Shepard is the first human Spectre, the savior of the Citadel and Council, a decorated soldier, one of the galaxy's foremost heroes, and the current commander of the Cerberus-aligned Normandy SR-2. Born the daughter of Hannah Shepard, an Alliance Navy officer who rose to the rank of admiral, Jane was always destined for life in service of the Systems Alliance military. She quickly joined the Marines when she became of age, and rose swiftly through the ranks. Her unit was stationed on the human colony planet of Elysium, where Shepard almost single-handedly repelled an attack by Batarian slavers. For this, she was awarded the Star of Terra, the highest Alliance military medal, and set on the track to become an N7, part of the Alliance's most elite special forces operatives.
After a tenure as an N7, Shepard was assigned to Captain David Anderson on the ship Normandy so the Turian Council Spectre Nihlus Kryik could evaluate her ability to serve as a Spectre. However, the mission swiftly went awry after the rogue Spectre Saren Arterius, Nihlus's mentor, killed Nihlus. Shepard found that Saren had been brainwashed by an ancient race of machines known only as the 'Reapers'. These Reapers wished to kill all sentient life in the galaxy every fifty thousand years to preserve order throughout the stars. While no one save her crew believed her, Shepard was able to stop one of the Reapers, Sovereign, when it attacked the Citadel, saving the station, destroying the Reaper, killing Saren, and stopping the Reaper invasion.
Shortly after, the Normandy was ambushed by a mysterious alien warship. Shepard was vented into space and killed by the vacuum. However, her story did not end there.
Two years later, after countless hours of research and work, Shepard was resurrected by the pro-human terrorist organization Cerberus. While Shepard has little trust for the group, they are responsible for rebuilding both her ship and her team, and are one of the few groups in the galaxy that believe her about the Reaper threat. Thus, Shepard now works alongside countless unlikely allies to combat both the Reapers, and their mysterious alien pawns known as the Collectors. Only time will tell what will happen, and with new events, everything has been thrown in disarray…
Han Solo
Allegiance: The New Republic
Born in the slums of the mammoth ship-building planet of Corellia, Han Solo always dreamed of becoming a pilot and seeing the stars. However, such dreams seemed very far away. Han never knew his mother, and his father abandoned him at a young age. He was forced to join a gang to survive, and continued on this path of life until he was somewhere around twenty. At this point, he came up with a plan to escape offworld with his then-girlfriend Qi'ra, involving threatening the gang leaders and bribing Imperial customs officials to escape onto a transport. The plan went awry, however, and only Han was able to make it through Imperial security; Qi'ra was recaptured by the gang. Hunted by both the gangs of Corellia and the Galactic Empire, Han had no choice left but to join the Imperial Military, thus getting him offworld.
While Han wanted to be a pilot, and was enrolled at the Imperial Navy Academy at Carida, multiple mishaps and constant disregard to strict, occasionally dangerous orders caused Han to be expelled and placed into the infantry as a corporal. Assigned to the muddy planet Mimban, Han found a group of smugglers disguised as Imperial soldiers; he attempted to blackmail them into taking him with them, but they turned the tables and reported Han as a deserter. As punishment, he was ordered to be fed to a 'beast': the Wookie Chewbacca. Luckily, Han was able to speak to the Wookie, and they devised an escape attempt. With Chewbacca's help, Han was able to convince the smugglers to take them offworld and into the life of a smuggler and adventurer.
After many adventures with his new best friend and first mate Chewbacca, Han has now found himself a general in the New Republic. Best friends to a Jedi Knight and boyfriend to a princess, it's a long way from Corellia. With his beloved Millenium Falcon, the fastest starship in the galaxy won in a card game with his friend Lando Calrissian, and Chewbacca by his side, Han Solo has found his place in the galaxy.
Admiral Adam Vir
Allegiance: The Galactic Assembly, the crew of the Omen
Admiral Adam Vir is an admiral of the United Nation's Navy and Galactic Assembly, a decorated war hero, savior of multiple planets, and the current commander of the Omen. Born in 3998 in Mericanada on Earth, Vir always believed that alien life existed. Due to his outspoken ideas, he was often teased and mocked by his peers as a child. After a tortuous time in high school, Vir swiftly joined the Naval Academy to see the stars and get away from his hometown.
Vir trained as a pilot, his lifelong ambition. When humanity's first deep space voyage was launched, he volunteered to help crew the ship. Vir was actually the first human to make contact with alien life, where he pursued an alien on a ground mission and was able to convince it through body language that he was no threat. Delighted that his views on extraterrestrial life were correct, he was chosen as one of the most enthusiastic human representatives to the Galactic Assembly.
When the Drev War occurred, Vir deployed to Anin. The volcanic dust of the planet kicked up in storms, forcing all naval personnel to fight on the ground, as their vessels could not fly in-atmosphere. There, Vir was wounded, his leg cut off by a Drev soldier named Sunny, and subsequently volunteered to take part in the Iron Eye program. Iron Eye armor was an experimental exoskeleton that would allow a human combatant to become stronger, jump higher, shrug off weapons, and become a super-soldier. However, it had to be directly fused to an individual's bones, and unbeknownst to the volunteers, the only way a human body could take the pain was to be put on so many drugs they could barely think. Vir took part in the experiment, and with his comrades, turned the tide of the war, forcing the Drev to surrender. It came at a terrible cost to the person, and Vir was one of only a few that made it out relatively unscathed in body and mind. However, he still had scars and PTSD from the ordeal.
Vir was then made a naval captain and given control over the starship Harbinger. There, he reconciled with the Drev that cut off his leg, becoming close friends with her. With a tendency to have alien auxiliaries on his crew, including the Vrul Dr. Kril and a contingent of Drev soldiers, the Harbinger completed many missions for the Assembly and explored the stars. It was later destroyed in battle, but Vir managed to escape, whereupon he was given control of the newly-built Omen.
Vir continues his mission to explore the stars aboard the Omen. He is ever-cheerful, and yearns to find more and more life amongst the stars, as was his old dream. With new events, there is even more to explore, and Vir couldn't be more delighted.